The New ‘Basketball Wives’ Franchise Will Be in This City

Basketball Wives has been giving us drama and exposing us to the sister circles and lavish lifestyle of the significant others of NBA players for almost a decade. The show has been filmed in various cities and catapulted many of its cast to reality television superstardom. Cast members like Evelyn Lozada and Tami Roman have had their own shows outside of the series, as well as other successful business ventures.

Now entering into its 9th season, the executive producer of the show, Shaunie O’Neal, is said to be introducing a new cast in a new city. Fans are eager to find out where the next Basketball Wives franchise is headed.Basketball Wives made its debut in 2010 in Miami. The original season featured the wives, girlfriends, and exes of professional athletes in the NBA. Shaunie O’Neal, Evelyn Lozada, Jennifer Williams, Suzie Ketcham, Royce Reed, and sisters – Gloria and Laura Govan – were the primary cast members of the inaugural season. 

Due to a rift in the relationship between O’Neal and the Govan sisters, the two were replaced by Tami Roman in season 2. The Govan sisters lived in Los Angeles and had developed their own fanbase, leaving O’Neal to create a separate Basketball Wivesfranchise in LA. Along with the Govan sisters, Malaysia Pargo and Jackie Christi were the main cast members of the LA franchise, which debuted in 2011.

With an ever-changing cast on both franchises, the two began to overlap. The Miami cast began to film primarily in LA after the Miami franchise came to an end following the departures of Evelyn Lozada and Jennifer Williams. After the success of the Miami and LA franchises, O’Neal looked to expand the brand. Beginning at the end of season 3 and during seasons 4 and 5 of the Miami franchise, the cast filmed often in New York, with cast members Jennifer Williams, Meeka Claxton and Evelyn Lozada splitting their time between Miami and New York. Things didn’t pan out and New York was taken off the table.

At one point, O’Neal discussed creating a Basketball Wives stage play and was filmed speaking with producers and attending casting calls. That dream did not come to fruition either.  The show continued to film primarily in Miami and Los Angeles before merging the two casts in season 7. 

Basketball Wives’ Tami Roman eventually moved to Houston to live with her boyfriend, Reggie Youngblood. She began filming less and with O’Neal not wanting to lose Roman as a cast member, Roman brought the idea of Basketball Wives Houston to O’Neal’s attention. Roman put the cast together after living in Houston for some time. It’s speculated if the show was picked up, Roman would have been due a producer credit. With that in mind, the idea for Houston seemingly disappeared. 

The Dallas news comes four years after Shaunie O’Neal told theJasmineBRAND that she was in talks of bringing the show to Houston. With The Dallas Mavericks NBA team, there are plenty of options for casting.